At a naturalization ceremony in Washington, President Obama gave an impassioned defense of immigration, calling it “our origin story.” He warned against succumbing to fear and mistreating immigrants, as had been done to slaves and to immigrants from Ireland, Japan, China, and elsewhere. Obama added, “In the Mexican immigrant today, we see the Catholic immigrant of a century ago . . . . In the Syrian seeking refuge today, we should see the Jewish refugee of World War II.”